My apologies to everyone!

It has been a real shock when I realized I missed the last email from Linden Labs stating that they are removing the sims from the grid, though not deleting them yet, until the final outstanding funds are paid.  I was not expecting this to happen until the end of January, but for reasons unknown, but understandable taken the time that has passed, the sims were removed.

Firstly about Linden Labs – they have been fantastic since I lost my job and we were left in what I would call dire need as a family.  After attempting to apply for over 131 jobs online and in person, I finally gave up and settled back in South Africa to find a lower paid job and help my new little family survive.  Sadly the country has exchange controls in place which make moving funds offshore (from South Africa to the US for example) almost impossible.  Though I have not had all the funds to pay, I would have been able to pay the bulk of the debts soon.  Lindens have been waiting for this to happen since August, but sadly we were always almost US$1,000 behind in payments and their patience understandably have finally run out.  That said, I wish to thank them all for their kindness since they are a business and not a charity, but still chose to work with VW and I to see what we can do to resolve this mess.

About Dumisani Ah – Dumi has not been inworld as I chose to remain offline until I could pay my debts. This way the sims had hope of being live for as long as possible and the debt outstanding only prevented my avatar from accessing SL in-world.  It was a hard hard hard thing to do since I had missed so much of what was happening, and more importantly missed my very best friends, you all in Bishara.  Dumi has a chance to still prevent the deletion of the sims if I can pay the outstanding within the next month.  For that to happen I need to close two very important deals and use the commissions from that to settle the debt to Linden Labs.  I am still positive this can happen, but I am not wanting to create any false hope, so watch this space and we see what can be done.

Bisharians – I have been honored to have met some of the most amazing friends in-world that I could ever wish to meet even in RL.  You are all simply fantastic and the support I had from you all to help me save the sims, and especially from VW and the clan, will never never be forgotten.  Thank you very very much!

Surfers – What can I say to describe the shame I feel for dropping you all so badly and losing you three fantastic surf spots!  I do not have the courage to face any of you really, but want to share with you all at least this that I tried everything I could to find the funds to pay LL the backlog.  Sadly the sims have never been profitable or at a breakeven point, even when VW and I tried adding all kinds of things to them.  So the backlog simply grew and grew, and as I usually subsidize that outstanding bit every month, the sims cost became impossible to cover.  Again, if I can change this I would, as you all deserve to have these places back again.

Landowners – Some of the most important people to me have been those of you who bought and own land in Bishara Resorts.  How do I apologize for disappointing you all?  I cannot really say anything to give you back what you have lost, and as I am totally unsure what happens to your land, can only say I hope that there is some compensation from LL.  Please know that I landed in this position only because I lost my job in May, and after many promises from my employer, the 3 month backlog in salaries too.  It is the harsh reality of the global economy these days that we are all at the mercy of investors, shareholders and bosses who wish to move their funds to safer havens and do so at a wim at times.  I apologize that this is so with me and that there has been no reprieve for Bishara due to my own financial situation.

VW and team – I cannot express the amazing sense of pride I feel to be called your friend!  You have been the most amazing in this whole sad episode in my life, and I cannot ever repay you for all the pain and frustrations you had to experience on my behalf, or for the warmth and kindness you showed to me.  Thank you, VW, specifically for the friendship we have, and to have honored us with your presence, willingness to help and the unselfish manner in which you managed Bishara in my absence.  Thank you each and everyone of you!

Do any of the Lindens surf?

And I mean on water, virtual or otherwise? I’m wondering that since I am truly convinced the surfing community is one of the most amazing communities in SL, and yet we see so little Linden presence or interest in it. I’ve seen Lindens check out the tinies, the furries, and Gorians, and whoever else out there seems some sort of organised bunch of residents, but I have yet to meet a Linden who knows an inkling of the surfing community.

Few people know that surfing in SL was the first grid wide organized sport, thanks to the SLSA (SL Surfing Association). Few know that the whole community serves new residents and surfers with fantastic grace and friendly advice, free of any charge, collar or ties 😉 Few know that the surf product designers are some of the most fantastic SL engineers around, especially when physics are involved. Few outside this community know these things and I am sure there are many other standout wonders that come out of this community, that others can add here.
And yet, no one has ever seen a Linden try this out, have a surf, and see what the community is all about. How about we get one Linden to visit us more regularly, to check out our community for more than just an hour or two, or hey, even surf so well we can induct them into the Hall of Fame WOOOOTTTTT!

Is this a challenge? You bet! Come on, Linden Lab, show us whose not chicken, and come and try out the EPIC waves on Majini Island and show us just how amazing those surfing talents are! O, and hey, if you suck like I do, I promise we’ll still treat you just the same and we’ll even throw in a few lessons with VW Sands for free, as they always are 🙂

Posted by Second Life Resident Dumisani Ah.

Wimbi Island Surf Adventure Complete – Phase 1

Hi Bisharians,
Phase 1 of the surf adventure has been completed thanks to Heather Goodliffe and VW Sands’s hard work this past week. Whatever you do whilst surfing AVOID the rocks 🙂

Posted by Second Life Resident Dumisani Ah.

Real growing fruit crops in Second Life

Well, as close as we can get!

At Bishara Resorts we have just launched our first Bishara Orchard product, the Bishara Melon Tree, at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Bishara%20Island/220/196/23. It sells for L$500 a tree and is full copy.

The melons start growing the moment you rezz the tree or ‘reset the scripts in selection’, and they will grow to maturity every DAY (they dont grow at night as they need sunlight) until they turn a glossy red. They continue to grow until they start to rot, turning a nice greyish rotten color of course, and there after they drop from the tree and rot away. As soon as they drop a new fruit grows in place of the rotten one. A nice ongoing crop of melons, growing from a tree no less 🙂

The Bishara Orchard product range is made by Dumisani Ah for the support of the Resort and its activities and charities. Please feel free to IM for the scripts as I have made them free for use so that anyone who wishes can try their hand at Second Life fruit farming 🙂 Or buy the finished product at the above SLURL.

New Bishara market Surf Sail and Diving store area open now!

Hi everyone, please drop a notecard with VW Sands or myself if you are interested in having a spot in the Bishara Market on Bishara Beach.  If you make surf / sail / dive equipment or clothing this is for you.  Majini Island feeds up to 10,000 true visitors to the beaches regularly, often higher than that, so the region is well served by your potential customer base.  Rates will be given once we understand the demand for space and once we have configured the layout to allow as many as possible to sell here without overwhelming one another.  We love making rentals from people, but not at the expense of the island layout, so space will remain limited.  Please don’t delay, get those notecards submitted asap.

Second Life’s Bay City Land madness!

Reading the Land Auctions page on secondlife.com almost gave me a heart attack! I know there are some land barons who would pay anything for parcels on auction with the chance to monopolize an entire region or a city block, but the Bay City auction prices are totally crazy! A frenzy of bids within a reasonable range were completely usurped by one or two individuals with cash, tripling the bids and driving them beyond the range of the average land buyer in Second Life. Its a ridiculous situation that makes a mockery of Linden land sales, where once free land was part of premium memberships. Now 1024 sq meters of Bay City land goes for over L$125,000 or over L$122 per sq meter. In US$ that translates to over US$460 for the parcel at a ratio 270:1.

In Bishara we are also expanding using low lag Class 5 simulators with beautiful island style themes, but at much more reasonable prices, our intending goal being to have a larger land and sea mass for everyone to enjoy away from the laggy mainland environment. Our prices compare extremely favorably with parcels from 4096 sq meters all the way to 8192 sq meters through our Bishara Resort Club going for cost plus 10%, that’s an asking price of US$1100 per sim size parcel or about L$4.5 per sq meter, individually segmented in the different sizes you wish to buy. The additional 10% is only for Bishara Resorts to terraform the islands when they arrive and to landscape. The covenants are residential / commercial and leave 10 meter terraforming options up or down. Now compare that to Bay City and tell me what’s reasonable?

Q&A:

Q – How does Bishara Resorts Club (BRC) work? A – It is a land co-op, an agreement between Bishara Resorts and reservation owners to purchase islands instantly once enough reservations have been sold within the planned 65525 sq meters region.

Q – Are these islands already available? A – No, the BRC islands are planned spaces within the current 6 island resort estate, that can be purchased in advance of being placed, at the one time low offer of 10% above Linden land cost.

Q – How do you calculate the price? A – We purchase regions (islands) of approx 65,500 sq meters from Linden Labs for USD1,000, our ‘cost’ price. We then add 10% to that cost price, divide the islands up into reasonable parcel sizes and resell them through the Bishara Resort Club Reservation System for a Linden price and or US Dollar price, depending on your preference.

Q – How do I make a reservation of a parcel for this price? A – You simply go to the Bishara Island entrance hall where you will find an automated reservation system.  Look at the graphic representation of each of the new regions we will be placing, and right click on that space and select ‘Pay’ from the menu.  Once the reservation has been made you will receive a receipt that allows ou to redeem the space once the actual island has been purchased from the Lindens and placed.

Q – Can I resell my reservation? A – You can resell the reservation once it has been converted to actual land, in other words as soon as the Island has been purchased terraformed and landscaped.  Once that is done, you can do with it what you like.

Q – Can I use this land for anything? – You can use the land within the bounds set by the Bishara Resorts covenant, which is very open and liberal, but keeps a protective level for all residents to co-exist.

The advance reservation system for Bishara Resorts Club land parcels can be found inside the entrance hall to Bishara Island. IM Dumisani Ah anytime for more information.

Bishara Resorts Club – HOT NEWS

More news for you all on the new island reservation system – formally referred to as the Bishara Resorts Club. What does this mean for you?
1. NEW LAND ON BISHARA – Yes, you will be able to reserve ahead of time your own parcel for brand new islands in the resort.
2. EXCLUSIVE RESERVATION – Bishara Resort group members will be the only people able to reserve.
3. PRE-ORDER RESERVATION – Your reservation is fixed even before we order the island from Linden Labs.
4. RESERVATION RESELL RIGHTS – You can sell your reservation immediately to someone else the moment the new island is placed.
5. RESERVATION PRICING DISCOUNT – You receive a massive discount on reserving land prior to the island being ordered and placed.
6. RESERVED PARCELS – Fully themed and with at least 20% of each island open spaces, the sims are truly exclusive Bishara quality properties, not simply segmented sections of a LL island template.
7. RESERVATION OPTIONS – You can reserve on islands where there are only 8 parcels or only 6 parcels or only 4 parcels.

Conditions:
You will be billed for the property on reservation.
You will be subject to the common Bishara Resorts convenant.
You will only be allowed to own the originally reserved space.
Absolutely no refunds on reservation, as we are buying land as the Bishara Resorts Club on your behalf on the confirmation of your reservation and payment.

How to:
Simply click on the little vendor box on the land you want. It will sell you the exclusive reservation key, a box that gives you the confirmation of your reservation and the conditions of sale as set out here. You can only do so on paying the vendor box on the parcel. Once you have done this two further communications will follow. I will IM you as soon as the parcels on the island have all been reserved and the island ordered from Linden Labs, and I will IM you as soon as the island is placed and themed.

The Bishara Marketplace

The Bishara Marketplace is a new venture in the Bishara Resort island group that gives retailers the opportunity to resell their products in a tented environment outside the mall. With a lovely square and fountain, and some beautiful trees and bird life, the shopping experience is likened to an open market in RL, and we hope that you will find it very entertaining and lots of fun.

What is the OPEN|STORE?

Some of you have asked what the OPEN|STORE is all about and I am delighted to share with you its purpose and function on the islands. OPEN|STORE is simply the retail space in the Bishara Resort estate created for new designers who wish to start up in Second Life with the sale of their own product (preferably) or the resell of products on behalf of the designer. The store is not intended as a place for merchants who have already owned a store before or who have retail experience in Second Life. The store is specifically designed to give new residents or new designers a leg-up in the retail work in Second Life, and as such the 6 slots will be filled with some unique products from new designers all keen to sell you product. Besides the free stand for an 8 week period, Bishara Resorts will help promote the products in Second Life as well, giving the new vendors every opportunity to succeed.

If you are interested in free retail space or a free store, and you are a new designer of goods that you feel are unique, then IM Dumisani Ah inworld to discuss.

New Mall Construction in Progress

We’re developing a new mall in Bishara Island, an open style with pre-installed Hippo vendors and a profit share model for designers wishing to start out and for people wishing to help support us by profit sharing with us. The open style has already had many great reviews and we are delighted with the responses.

Dolphin Products will continue to be expanded to help out anyone with free scripted objects, for two reasons: One is to showcase the wonderful and rich contribution by scripters to the Second Life community, with the scripts used in the Dolphin line being Open Source or released under public licenses for use freely amongst Second Life residents, and Secondly to help anyone wishing to understand better how these products or scripts work and to learn as I am, how to script themselves (trust me at 40 this does not come easy for me 🙂 ).